A Death in the Family
A Death in the Family is the tenth episode of of the first season of Castle. Premise The gruesome murder of a plastic surgeon sends Castle and Beckett into a confusing world of cosmetic surgery, unstable patients, and the witness protection program. But when Castle discovers additional information about Beckett's past, it could end up fracturing the partnership. Summary A man is found suffocated in a car with a plastic bag. The victim is Dr Joshua Leeds, a plastic surgeon. Leeds’ fiancée, Courtney Morantz, identifies the body. She’s devastated, as they were getting married in a month. She swears Josh was never in contact with any criminal elements. At Leeds' office, the staff reveals the name of an unsatisfied customer Tracy Goldberg who had sued him, but her alibi checks out. While Esposito and Ryan search Leeds office for clues, a file is found containing records of an operation with no patient information. It is found that Leeds had operated on a patient for the U.S. Attorney office, doing reconstructive face surgery for a Witness Protection Program. At the consulate, Candance 'Hard Candy' Robinson refuses to tell Beckett anything about the witness. But Castle, using his sources in the mob learns that Jimmy 'The Rat' Moran was about to testify against a mafia family, the Spolanos. Beckett meets up with Agent Sorenson and asks him to arrange a meeting with Moran. But the talks are a failure, as the death and nature of death of the doctor scares Moran, who identifies his own killing style being used. After they leave, Beckett is informed that the car containing Moran was shot at and both Sorenson as well as Moran were hit. Beckett is devastated and blames herself for the hit, but Castle tells her not to give up. Next morning, Beckett tries to find a hole in the staff profiles. They find that Mario, one of the staff members, had just been hired last month. But at the office, it is found that the Maggie Dowd that works in Dr. Leeds’ office doesn’t match the picture faxed over from her nursing school. They think she may have gone to finish off Moran. Back at the hospital, Maggie is trying to administer poison to Moran, but gets caught and it is revealed that the line had been cut so that the poison wouldn’t enter Moran’s line. She is revealed to be Clara 'Cold blood', a hit woman for the Spolanos. She also decides to testify. There a two subplots to this episode. One concerns Alexis, who is getting ready to go to the junior-senior prom with her friend Owen and Castle's realization that his daughter is growing into a woman. The other concerns Castle's search for Beckett's mother's killer, which puts a strain on his relationship with Beckett, ultimately leading Beckett to break off from him when he reveals her mother and three other murders at the same time were connected. Cast Main Cast *Nathan Fillion as Richard Castle *Stana Katic as Detective Kate Beckett *Jon Huertas as Detective Javier Esposito *Seamus Dever as Detective Kevin Ryan *Tamala R. Jones as Dr. Lanie Parish *Ruben Santiago-Hudson as Captain Roy Montgomery *Molly C. Quinn as Alexis Castle *Susan Sullivan as Martha Rodgers Guest Stars * Gary J. Wayton as Doctor Leeds * Carrie Southworth as Courtney Morantz * Matt Riedy as Attorney * Robert Costanzo as Sal Tenor * DeLane Matthews as Jacey Goldberg * Bailey Chase as Will Sorenson * Ion Overman as Candace Robinson * Drew Osborne as Owen * Rey Herrera as Mario Guerrera * Jackie Geary as Maggie Dowd * Scott Connors as Agent Debney * Kari Coleman as Julia Hammond * Rachel Leah Cohen as Annoyed Woman * Catherine Christensen as FBI Agent * Ron Althoff as Heavy * Robert Picardo as Clark Murray * Joe Marinelli as Jimmy Moran Quotes Esposito: Wow, look at her. How can anyone do that to themselves? Castle: Right? It's like she escaped from the Island of Dr. Moreau. Beckett: Come on guys, she's not an animal. She's a human being. Castle: Yeah, I know but...wait are you being sincere, or quoting the Elephant Man? Beckett: I'm not running a background check on your daughter's date. Castle: Oh, come on! She says he's quiet, he keeps to himself, and he lives with his parents. Tell me that doesn't sound like a serial killer to you! Beckett: You want to ask the mob who the witness is? Castle: Clearly they already know who he is if they're trying to kill him. Like you said, he's gotta be a significant witness in a pretty big case. Beckett: So what do we do? Hop in the car and drive down to the Bada Bing? (Castle stares as a well-endowed blonde walks past) Beckett: (Clears throat) Ahem. What's the deal with men and boobs, anyway? Castle: Biological. We can't help it. Beckett: But doesn't it bother you that they're so obviously not real? Castle: (Pauses) Santa's not real. We still love opening his presents. Background Information Trivia *After Castle suggests they should check out the billing department of the hospital, we see him coming back to the office with 2 cups of coffee. He gets near Beckett and after she gives Esposito a paper with an account number, the camera angle cuts back to Castle and he's now holding only one cup of coffee with both hands. References *Castle: "Yeah, I know but...wait are you being sincere, or quoting the Elephant Man?" The Elephant Man was a 1980 film starring Anthony Hopkins and John Hurt about a heavily disfigured man who is mistreated while scraping a living as a side-show freak. *Beckett: "So what do we do? Hop in the car and drive down to the Bada Bing?" The Bada Bing! is a fictional go-go bar from the HBO drama television series The Sopranos. *Castle: "Right? It's like she escaped from the Island of Dr. Moreau." The Island of Dr. Moreau is a 1977 film, which is based on the 1896 book of the same name by H.G. Wells, starring Burt Lancaster and Michael York about an island inhabited by a scientist, Dr. Moreau, who in an experiment has turned beasts into human beings. The film was remade in 1996 and starred Val Kilmer and Marlon Brando. Featured Music *"Pack Up Your Troubles In Your Old Kit Bag" - Minnutes *"More to Luv" - Minnutes *"I Know You Are But What Am I?" - Mogwai *"Comes and Goes (In Waves)" - Greg Laswell 110